Traditional food service equipment which prepares, cooks, or toasts various different food products such as, for example, tortillas or the like, for various food establishments, usually require food preparation personnel to feed the food products, to be cooked or toasted, individually, or one at a time, into the equipment. Obviously, this is very inefficient and time consuming, particularly for a fast-food type food establishment where quick, rapid, or shortened cooking or preparation times are required in order to produce the cooked or toasted food products within the shortened service times which effectively define one of the more important attractive features or characteristics of fast-food establishments.
A need therefore exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment. An additional need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which is adapted to prepare, cook, or toast specific food items. A still additional need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which is adapted to prepare, cook, or toast tortillas or similar type food items. A yet additional need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments. A still yet additional need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments, such as, for example, fast food restaurants. A further need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments, such as, for example, fast food restaurants wherein quick turnaround time for cooking or preparing food item orders is a highly sought-after feature or characteristic. A still further need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments, such as, for example, fast food restaurants wherein the equipment is very compact yet efficient in providing the cooked food products. A yet further need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments, such as, for example, fast food restaurants wherein the appliance is very compact, efficient in providing the cooked food products, and can be operated by means of a minimum number of food preparation personnel. A still yet further need exists in the art for new and improved food service equipment which can be utilized in various different food establishments, such as, for example, fast food restaurants wherein the equipment is very compact, efficient in providing the cooked food products, can be easily operated by means of a minimum number of food preparation personnel, and can be utilized to prepare, cook, or toast numerous food items substantially simultaneously as opposed to being constrained to process the food items singly, or in a one-by-one fashion.